Investment Schools Community Meeting
Case
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Guiding Questions for Families and Community Members
People: The adults who work in your scholar’s Investment School
1. How would you like adults from the school to communicate with you about your
scholar?
 Get in contact when incidents/issues first occur. Limit amount of time between
incident and reaction.
 By email or telephone
2. Describe the personality of the kind of teacher and principal who would be most
helpful for your scholar and your family? What should they be able to do?
 Respect parents and students
 Principal present in building every day
 Communicate with staff, parents and students in a professional manner
 Teachers should be more hands-on with students
 Staff/administrators should have courage to suspend problem students as
necessary
 Staff should want to be at school
 Able to set a good example for students
 Staff should understand families can’t always meet homework requirements
every night. Stop assumptions as to why assignment wasn’t completed.
 Don’t punish students without inquiry.
 Investigate any/all issues concerning students before action is taken.
 If suspension is necessary, suspend across the board, don’t single out students.
3. Some or all staff members from each Investment School will re-interview for their
positions. Who should be part of the committee to select new hires? When staff
members are selected, they must sign a Letter of Commitment to the school. What
are some terms they should agree to?
 Committee should include:
i. Parents
ii. Board of Education member
iii. Principal
iv. School staff
v. Grandparents
vi. Students
vii. Volunteers
viii. Community members
 Terms
i. Control their classrooms
ii. Teachers maintain professionalism at times when dealing with students
and issues
iii. Patience
iv. Dedication and commitment to work harder
v. Ask for help
vi. Be flexible with teaching style – students don’t all learn the same way
Time: Making the most of every minute in an Investment School
4. Some investment schools will lengthen the school day for everyone, and in others
there will be opportunities for scholars to take part in extended learning time.
What should this extra time be used for? (work time on computers, extra
instruction in reading or math, small group or individual tutoring, book club, etc.)
 Social media
 Extracurricular activities
 Team building activities
 Book club
 Activities should be available to everyone
 Teachers should suggest activities to student based on needs/skill set
5. If your scholar could spend more time at school, when would work best for your
family? Staying later in the afternoon? Starting earlier in the morning? Coming to
school once a month on Saturday? Keeping school hours the same but taking
shorter school vacations?
 Later in afternoon
 Shorter vacation – because parents need to figure out what to do with kids on
vacation
Money: Making the most of every dollar at an Investment School
6. How can the visible appearance of the school building be improved? What would
make it feel more clean, more safe, more welcoming?
 Wheelchair ramp between first and second floors
 More security
 Painting
 More janitors
 Assistant Secretary
 Lockers
 Guidance counselors
 More parent involvement
 Full-time nurse
 Assistant principal
 Playground
7. Have you noticed anything about the school that makes you feel money is being
used in smart ways, or that money is being wasted?
8. What kinds of investment would demonstrate to you that the school has changed
in positive ways?
 Playground
 Bring back voucher programs
 Student uniforms
 Textbooks
 Entrance from and exits into parking lots
 Incorporate 21st century teaching

iPads
Programs: Supporting the success of every scholar in the Investment Schools
9. We want to provide you with regular report cards about how the school is
improving. What information do you think is most important and interesting to
include?
 Improved attendance
 Improved test scores
10. What organizations in the community do you trust to offer services to your
scholar and your family and how do you think the school should work in
cooperation with those organizations?
 Greater Cleveland Congregations
 Banks
 Rainy Institute
 Other arts organizations
 City Mission
 Sunrise Tutoring
 Recreation centers
11. What non-academic programs or extra-curricular activities would appeal to
scholars (i.e. sports, arts, chess, and gardening, anything else?)
 Girl Scouts
 Cheerleading
 Sports – football, basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball
12. What kinds of activities help your scholar to learn best? What gets him or her
excited about learning?
 Computers
Guiding Questions for Scholars
1. If you were the principal and could change one thing about the school what would
you change?
 Update and clean the building
 Dress code
 Better school lunches
 Build a playground
 Change the way we learn
 More computers
 More athletics
 Better bathrooms
 Teach using tablets (i.e. use time to play Angry Birds as a reward)
 Use YouTube videos to teach
2. Describe a helpful teacher, How should your teacher work with your to help you
learn best?
 Helping and supportive
 Food
 Make learning fun
 More classrooms
 Incorporating Smart Boards in lessons
3. What can your principal do to make your school a better place to learn?
 Take out some of the teachers
 No dress code
 No suspension – use warnings, time outs
 When you do really well, you get a dress down day on Fridays
 Go to tutoring instead of class
 Extra gym time
 Stop kids from cursing
 Have parties
 Get lockers
 Get a different gym teacher
4. If you were at school more time than you are now, which would you choose –
staying later in the afternoon, starting earlier in the morning, coming to school
once a month on Saturday, keeping school hours the same but taking shorter
school vacations?
 More learning
 Be active all day
 More computer time
 More science, more math
 Gaming Club
 Bring in video games
5. If you were at school for more time than you are now, which would you choose –
staying later in the afternoon, starting earlier in the morning, coming to school
once a month on Saturday, keeping school hours the same but taking shorter
school vacations.
 Earlier each day – 4 votes
 Stay later – 9 votes
 One Saturday per month – 10 votes
 Shorter vacation time – 0 votes
 Stay at school instead of going to day care – yes
 Time spent at the end of day at rec center – yes
6. What extracurricular activities would you be interested in? Sports, arts,
gardening, chess are some examples to get you thinking.
 Sports (Volleyball, Football, Basketball, Track, Skating)
 Cheerleading
 Dance Classes
 Music
 Art
Guiding Questions for Community Partners
1. If you have provided services/activities at the school in the past (or currently),
describe how you know your work is having positive impact on the students (and
their families, if applicable).
 The number of people attending increased and their participation in programs,
etc. has increased.
 They received positive feedback from students and parents.
 Community Spaces are very important to foster relationship building.
 People from the community are volunteering their time and getting involved.
 We help facilitate parent involvement in/with school by explaining rules, helping
parents frame their questions and concerns.
2. If you are not currently working in the school, in what ways do you think your
organization could best offer support to the school and its students?
 Support parent programs
 Support parent interaction with school
 Mentor parents
 Connecting various support groups around the school.
 Instability of the neighborhood/community (this school has a large transient
population) creates a barrier to connecting with community.
 Listen, connect
 Build awareness around the “story” of this community/neighborhood/students.
Each neighborhood has its own flavor, embrace that flavor.
 Support teachers and administrators develop and accomplish their mission.
 Hear parents concerns – listen and support their POV and requests
 Build a relationship with parents – work together.
3.
What other needs have you observed not being met in the school, for students
and/or families?
 Clean up schools, clean up the physical environment. The school is not welcoming
and doesn’t inspire learning. The classrooms look chaotic. The school was originally
built for elementary school students, which means many of the facilities are small or
low to the ground. This school does not have a warm and inviting appearance, very
depressing atmosphere.
 Organize classrooms
 Address the current building design; look for ways to modify facilities to ‘fit” all
students.
4.
Does your program or service have a direct tie-in to students’ academic learning
or social-emotional learning?
 Yes
 Develop wrap-around learning.
 Provide one on one learning through tutoring/volunteers.
5. What are effective ways to communicate with school leadership and teachers
about the program work being accomplished in the school? What gets in the way
of effective communication?
 Be present daily
 Utilize volunteers
 Lack of transparency. Be transparent.
 Respect everyone.
 Be accountable to self, mission, student’s community.
 Build relationship(s).